Resolute’s first National Sweater Day: cozy for conservation!

I was pretty excited about the opportunity to get Resolute’s corporate office involved in National Sweater Day. Aside from the obvious advantages of raising awareness around climate change and building engagement with our employees, I saw another benefit: a chance to wear a comfortable, colourful, absolutely hideous sweater to work.

Even better – I would convince several members of senior management to don sweaters and be photographed for a poster to promote the event! Here’s the result of that brilliant idea:

Resolute senior management suit up to promote Sweater Day

Our mission was simple: on February 7, we’d turn down the heat, and get our colleagues to wear their favourite sweaters.

On February 7, sweater-clad Resolute employees filled the office corridors, and we welcomed them to our cafeteria with chocolate-chip caramel cookies. Trivia questions about climate change (courtesy of WWF) were projected on a large screen, and employees learned fun facts such as the % of heat an oven loses when the door is opened (around 20%). We even included some facts about Resolute’s commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. A photographer was on hand to capture it all, and a giant panda even dropped in to join the festivities.

The next day, photos of Sweater Day participants were emailed around and employees were asked to vote for their favourite. The winner, Jose Sanchez in our administrative services department, took home the prize (a warm, cozy blanket) with this enthusiastic shot:

The winning photo

Sustainability is one of our core values at Resolute, and reducing carbon emissions is a key area of focus for us. In fact, as part of our membership in the WWF’s Climate Savers program, we’ve committed to achieving a 65% reduction in our scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2015 (over 2000 levels). (We’re already at 62%!) Participating in Sweater Day was a fun and fitting way to symbolically demonstrate that commitment.

I’d love to hear how others incorporated Sweater Day at their workplaces – please share in the comments below!